Page 45 of Mind Pucked

“What’s up with him?” Amelia asks as Hayden runs over to give Felix a high five.

“Not sure…he’s had his shorts in a wad for a while now. If you ask me, we’d have better luck if someone else moved to the team from team two, but no one plays his spot as well as he does.” I wipe sweat from my neck with a towel.

“I see,” she says, just as my mother walks in.

Her demeanor is better now that the game is half over and there’s less noise than before.

“Good game so far, son,” she says, and I smile at her. “Your nanny and I have been chatting, and it seems Hayden has quite the affinity for the sport.”

I smile at Hayden as she runs from Felix to me and jumps into my arms.

“Yes. You do, don’t you, baby?” I say as I knock my nose against her little cheek.

“What, Daddy?” she asks with a wrinkle of her nose.

“You like hockey, don’t you?” Amelia says as she takes her from me and hugs her tight.

“I want to defend the goal like Uncle Felix one day,” Hayden says, but then she leans over to my mother and puts her hand to her mouth like she might be getting ready to tell a secret. “They get the most action,” she whispers.

We all laugh. “Is that what Uncle Felix told you?” I ask, leaning in to kiss her cheek. “Well, you, Amelia, and Grandma better make your way back out there—the second half will start soon enough.”

“Otay, Daddy,” she says as she slides out of Amelia’s arms and then takes each woman’s hand in hers to lead the way out. “This way, ladies,” she adds as they walk out the door.

Amelia looks back with a huge smile at the last moment, and I’m not sure but I think my mother might have noticed.

In the end, our team wins by a landslide. Throughout the rest of the game, there are many penalties from both sides, three fights, a lot of trash-talking, and another broken nose—but this time it’s the nose of the other team’s goalie when I send a puck flying at his face.

We cheer and celebrate in the locker room as our families gather. I smile at everyone as they make their way out of the room oncetheir gear has been stripped off and put away. Only a few of us linger.

“We’re going to Ted’s bar to celebrate,” Oliver says as he jumps up and down. “You should come with us.”

He smiles at me. I have turned down too many invitations to the bar. I have too many responsibilities. I think about telling him no, when I remember my mother is with us. Maybe she can take Hayden home for the night.

Just then, as if on cue, my mom, Amelia, and Hayden walk in.

“You did amazing tonight, son,” my mother says as she gives me a genuine hug. “I was thinking, what if I took Hayden home with me for the night so you could go celebrate with the boys?”

I smile at her and nod, looking at my daughter for confirmation that this is what she wants. It’s nice that I don’t even have to ask.

“Do you want to go spend the night with your grandma tonight?” I ask her as I kneel on one knee in front of her.

“Yes, please, Daddy,” she says, jumping up and down and clapping her hands.

“See? It’s all set, man,” Oliver says as he walks toward the door. “See you at the bar.”

“Okay, Mom, if you’re okay with it, I’ll go home and pack a few of her things.”

“There’s no sense in that—I have enough at my house to last,” she says as she kisses my cheek, then grabs Hayden’s hand.

“Does this mean I’m off for the night then?” Amelia asks as my mom and Hayden walk out of the room.

“Yeah,” I say, but I don’t want to be rude. “But…you could always come hang out with the guys and I…come help us celebrate.”

“I don’t know about all that,” Amelia says. “I don’t know that me hanging out with a bunch of sweaty guys at a bar sounds like all that much fun.” She slaps me playfully on the arm and snorts out the most adorable laugh.

“We have all showered,” I say. “But fine, you can miss out on the madness. It can sometimes get more interesting than the games themselves.”

“Oh, I’m sure,” she says with an eye roll. “Okay, you’ve talked me into it.” She allows me to take her arm and walk out with her.

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